Simultaneous Transmigration: From Japanese Anime to American Comics

Chapter 78: A New Breathing Technique

"It turns out he was standing on another Hollow the entire time. No wonder he wasn't moving; I thought he was just scared stiff…" Rukia Kuchiki looked down and examined Yosuke Honkawa's condition, noticing that he had only recently transformed from an ordinary soul into a Hollow.

"With his strength, that Hollow should have been eliminated long ago. The fact that it's been dragged out this long means they must have known each other."

Rukia came to a conclusion and immediately turned to ask Ichigo Kurosaki:

"Hey! You know this Hollow, don't you?"

"Hollow?" Ichigo didn't quite understand what Rukia was talking about, but seeing her point at Yosuke Honkawa, he nodded and said, "You mean Uncle Yosuke? Yeah, we know him."

Ichigo then told Rukia everything about Yosuke Honkawa, from his cause of death and unfulfilled wish to how Chu Yang helped him get compensation.

"I didn't expect that guy to have such a kind heart," Rukia muttered under her breath, glancing at the human-shaped monster, Chu Yang.

"This state is called a Hollow?" Ichigo asked anxiously, "Why did Uncle Yosuke turn into this? Is there a way to turn him back?"

"The best way to handle it is to send him to the afterlife. Since his wish has been fulfilled, he shouldn't linger any longer, or he'll eventually lose his mind and become a full-fledged monster."

Rukia briefly explained the significance of souls and Hollows and considered how to perform the soul burial for Yosuke Honkawa.

Chu Yang had already seriously injured him, so Yosuke had no ability to resist whatever Rukia decided to do.

However, a Hollow's soul burial is far more complicated than that of a regular soul and requires extensive preparation.

Before Rukia could perform the soul burial on Yosuke Honkawa, she first had to ensure the surrounding environment was stable and free from external disturbances.

She needed to deal with the other Hollow, which was on the verge of evolving, before anything else.

"Damn it, as a Soul Reaper, how can I just stand by and watch? This should have been my responsibility!"

The close-quarters battle between Chu Yang and the Hollow was fierce. Rukia had no opportunity to intervene with her Zanpakutō and could only watch the battle unfold.

If this area hadn't been so sparsely populated, with few buildings around, the damage would have been catastrophic.

By now, it was hard to find an intact patch of ground, with craters and ravines scattered everywhere.

If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, Rukia wouldn't have believed any of this.

In the Soul Society, if someone had told her that a human could overpower a Hollow with just physical strength, without using a Zanpakutō, she would have thought they were insane.

After a prolonged struggle, Chu Yang leaped high into the air and smashed the Hollow's mask with a punch.

Boom!!!

The massive Hollow collapsed, its broken mask disintegrating in the wind, revealing a human face beneath.

"Leave the rest to you!" Chu Yang stretched his neck, exhausted, and jumped down from the Hollow's body.

In terms of combat power, Soul Reapers undoubtedly rank higher than characters in Naruto or One Piece. Even though the latter can be exaggerated at times, they mostly remain at a human level.

Of course, there are exceptions like the Sage of Six Paths.

In the high-combat world of Soul Reapers, even a regular Hollow can be challenging to deal with, let alone one that is evolving into a Menos Grande.

Without using his Wood Release or other abilities, Chu Yang had to put in considerable effort to defeat this Hollow.

Even so, the result left Rukia stunned.

She had been a Soul Reaper for years, but she had never seen such a display before.

At the request of Chu Yang and Ichigo, Rukia first performed a soul burial for Yosuke Honkawa, even though the other Hollow posed a greater threat.

At the moment of the soul burial, Yosuke regained his consciousness. Upon hearing that Higashizawa had delivered the compensation to his family, he finally let go of his last attachment to the living world.

Before departing, this honest worker sincerely thanked Chu Yang and Ichigo for helping him.

After sending off Yosuke Honkawa, Rukia began purifying the other Hollow, inserting her Zanpakutō into the hole in its chest.

Chu Yang noticed the sweat trickling down Rukia's temples, realizing this was no easy task, and much more troublesome than handling Yosuke Honkawa.

"You're pretty amazing!"

Ichigo quietly walked up to Chu Yang, amazed, "You actually managed to go toe-to-toe with that monster."

"What do you mean, toe-to-toe?" Chu Yang said, displeased. "Didn't you see how badly I beat it? I didn't even get my clothes dirty."

Ichigo turned to look at Chu Yang.

Indeed, his school uniform was spotless, without the slightest damage.

Chu Yang's uniform, of course, remained untouched because his entire body was surrounded by Haki. To even scratch his Haki, it would take an opponent on the level of a Menos Grande.

Ichigo scratched his head, "That girl said she's a Soul Reaper. So, are you a Soul Reaper too?"

Chu Yang rolled his eyes at him, "I'm the King of Hell!"

Given that Buddhism in Japan originated from China, there's naturally a concept of the King of Hell, though it isn't as widely known as the Bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha.

Ichigo was briefly stunned by Chu Yang's answer, but quickly realized he was being teased and laughed awkwardly.

"Unfortunately, there's no King of Hell in the underworld, only the souls of those who've committed serious crimes—like this Hollow!"

Rukia's voice echoed as a strange, terrifying door slowly appeared in the air.

The door was engraved with ancient runes, with a pair of hideous skeletons at its center. The skeletons' fingers gripped the seams of the door as if trying to pry it open.

At the sight of the Hell Gate, both Chu Yang and Ichigo felt a chill run down their spines.

"The Zanpakutō can purify a Hollow's sins, but the crimes it committed in life will still be judged by Hell. Yosuke Honkawa wasn't dragged into Hell because he only recently became a Hollow and had no sins in life."

Rukia calmly explained.

She had seen this scene countless times, so there was nothing surprising about it.

The Hell Gate opened fully, slowly dragging the Hollow inside. It was a realm of chaos, and Chu Yang couldn't see into it.

However.

He could sense something inside watching him.

This put Chu Yang on alert.

Moments later, the Hell Gate closed, gradually becoming transparent and disappearing, as if it had never been there.

After sending the Hollow to Hell, Rukia completed her task. She didn't leave immediately but instead walked up to Chu Yang and asked, "Are you a Fullbringer?"

For an ordinary person to have such extraordinary abilities, Rukia couldn't think of any explanation other than Fullbring.

Fullbringers can draw out the souls of objects and use their spiritual power to enhance them, allowing them to increase their mobility or change the shape of their favored items.

There are many types of Fullbringers, including those who can strengthen their own bodies, such as Ichigo's friend, Sado Yasutora.

"What does Fullbring mean?" Ichigo asked, once again full of questions. Today had introduced far too many terms beyond his understanding.

Rukia sighed and began to explain.

"Oh, that's what it means!"

After Ichigo understood, he turned curiously to Chu Yang, hoping to hear a confirmation from him.

To avoid complications, Chu Yang didn't say anything but chose to remain silent, which Rukia took as a tacit admission.

She gave Chu Yang a deep look.

She had originally planned to use a memory replacement device to alter their memories of tonight, but given Chu Yang's strength, she was somewhat cautious. Forcing it might not go smoothly.

Moreover, Soul Reapers are not allowed to harm ordinary humans arbitrarily. If the Soul Society found out, she would be severely punished.

So, Rukia quietly marked both Chu Yang and Ichigo with special spiritual imprints to find them later. After warning the two of them, she left.

"Hopefully, I won't see that girl again…"

Ichigo sighed, running his hands through his hair, "This has been the wildest night of my fifteen years of life."

Chu Yang chuckled, "It might get even wilder."

"Please no! I just want a normal life—studying, going to college, graduating, and working like an ordinary person."

"Good luck with that," Chu Yang yawned as he walked home under the moonlight.

"Why does it always sound so sarcastic when he talks?" Ichigo muttered, rubbing his chin, before suddenly panicking and sprinting away.

"Oh no! I'm so late; Dad must be worried!"

…

In the world of Demon Slayer.

Kanae and the others were eating ramen at a restaurant owned by Obanai Iguro and Mitsuri Kanroji.

"Yang is still training. Muzan's already dead, so why is he so obsessed with surpassing the limits of Sun Breathing?"

Originally, Chu Yang had promised Kanae and the others to come here for a meal, but he canceled at the last minute, which led to Shinobu's dissatisfaction as she vented to the others at Butterfly Mansion.

Makomo and Kanao exchanged glances and then buried their heads in their bowls of noodles, not daring to speak ill of Chu Yang alongside Shinobu.

To any member of the Demon Slayer Corps, Chu Yang was an untouchable hero; he was the one who ended the thousand-year war.

Kanae gently patted Shinobu's hair and comforted her, "It's precisely because of his dedication that he was able to defeat Muzan Kibutsuji at such a young age, allowing us to live like ordinary people."

"I know that!" Shinobu pouted, "He's endured all the hardships and fought the battles, so why does he keep pushing himself so hard? Can't he just slow down, enjoy life, and reward himself?"

Kanae soothed her sister's emotions, smiling warmly as she stuffed more food into Shinobu's mouth.

In truth, it wasn't just Shinobu who didn't understand; Kanae herself couldn't comprehend Chu Yang's current mindset.

Muzan was dead, and Chu Yang was already the strongest human in the world. What was the point of becoming even stronger?

Meanwhile, at Butterfly Mansion, golden flames swirled around Chu Yang as he finished another round of breathing techniques, but the improvements were minimal.

Chu Yang clearly sensed that his mastery of the Sun Breathing technique had hit a bottleneck.

"How do I break through?" he wondered.

He had already mastered the Demon Slayer Marks and the Transparent World. Whether refining the details or strengthening his physique day by day, it seemed the breathing technique could no longer evolve.

This left Chu Yang feeling frustrated, so he decided to go out for a walk, breaking his isolated training routine.

When Kanae and the others returned from the ramen shop and found Chu Yang missing, the usually mild-tempered Kanae stood at the door, furious.

"If he comes back, close the door on him! That idiot!"

But by then, Chu Yang had already gone far, out of earshot of Kanae's angry shouts.

For his first stop, Chu Yang hadn't decided where to go. After thinking for a while, he chose to wander wherever his mood took him.

He passed through mountains and crossed rivers.

The chirping of insects in the forest and the sound of rushing water by the rivers gradually soothed his restless mind.

As time passed, Chu Yang became more relaxed, and the thought of Sun Breathing appeared less and less in his mind.

Eventually, he let go of his Total Concentration Breathing: Constant technique, becoming like an ordinary person on a journey.

Unknowingly, he arrived at a remote town that felt oddly familiar.

This was the town where he had first met Kamado Tanjuro.

He hadn't seen that warm, father-and-son pair in a long time.

Chu Yang wondered how Tanjuro's health was doing.

He prepared to visit Tanjuro, but halfway up the cliff, he noticed someone gathering herbs.

"That cliff is so steep, one wrong move and..."

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